1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer ceramic electronic component and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, with the demand for small-sized and multi-functional products, such as electronic products, IT and A/V products, or the like, electronic components have also needed to become small and have multi-functionality, and, in accordance with these requirements, the demand for multilayer ceramic electronic components is increasing. Multilayer ceramic electronic components have been widely used as components in computers, mobile phones, and the like, due to advantages thereof, such as miniaturization, high capacity, and ease of mounting, and the like.
A capacitor, an inductor, a varistor, and the like are provided as multilayer ceramic electronic components. Also, in general, multilayer ceramic capacitors, passive devices in general widely used, are also required to have high-capacity and high-reliability.
For small-sized, high-capacity multilayer ceramic capacitors, ceramic sheets and internal electrodes are required to be thinned and highly laminated; however, as these elements become thinner and more highly laminated, a volume of the internal electrodes may be increased while a thickness of a cover layer may be decreased.
The decrease in the thickness of the cover layer may allow moisture and the like to infiltrate into the multilayer ceramic capacitor from the outside, and thus, the moisture-resistance properties of the multilayer ceramic capacitor may be degraded.